[nabs-l] Coping with Graphs and Other Visual Representations of Data

[Greg Aikens]

Hi Tina,
One of my favorite solutions for graphing on the fly is using a home-made screen board.  To make one you take a clipboard (or any flat board really) and cover one side with window screen.  Then you place the paper on the screen and someone can quickly sketch tactile diagrams by drawing with a crayon.  The drawings aren't nearly as nice as you will get with more high tech solutions, but it is extremely cheap, easy to use, and works well for graphs that aren't prepared ahead of time.  If you already have a reader, you could have them sketch the graphs as you go.  

Another solution is using tactile graphics made on microcapsule or Swell paper.  This involves printing the diagram on special paper in black ink and then running it through a machine that heats up the paper.  When the paper is heated, the areas covered in ink become raised lines and the blank spaces do not.  I can't remember the name of the machine but we always used to call it a toaster.  This obviously requires access to the toaster, capsule paper which can get expensive, and someone to prepare the diagrams ahead of time.  These diagrams are much more durable and can provide more precise information.  

There are other solutions as well but these are the two I have used the most in college.  

I hope this info was helpful. 

-Greg
On Nov 19, 2010, at 7:28 PM, Tina Hansen wrote:

> I'm sure all of you have had to either create or interpret graphs of data for your various classes. This issue is still rearing its head in my Environmental Science course, and I doubt that it will really ever go away.
> 
> Anyway, if anyone out there has suggestions for coping with this problem, I'd appreciate any advice on either how to work with readers on this issue or what other ways people have found to gain true access to this kind of material. I want to hear about any tools you've used, both low-tech and high-tech. Thanks.
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